This weekend, pedestrians in downtown Palo Alto and Menlo Park were not met with the usual robotic crosswalk signals — instead, they heard the artificial intelligence-generated voices impersonating Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
One video filmed in downtown Palo Alto, at the intersection of University Avenue and Florence Street, showcases a voice claiming to be Musk’s, delivering a message that promised to give pedestrians a Cybertruck if they befriended him.
“You don’t know the level of depravity I would stoop to just for a crumb of approval,” the voice said. “I mean, let’s be real, it’s not like I had any moral convictions to begin with.”
Just two blocks away from the previous voice note, at the intersection of University and Ramona, a voice resembling Musk appeared again, welcoming individuals to Palo Alto, which he implies is the home of “Tesla Engineering.”
“You know, they say money can’t buy happiness, and I guess that’s true,” the voice said. “God knows I’ve tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck, and that’s pretty sick right? Fuck, I’m so alone.”
Another video, filmed in Menlo Park at the corner of Santa Cruz Avenue and El Camino Real, features Zuckerberg introducing himself, telling listeners that they need not worry about the inevitable future of AI.
“It’s normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience,” the voice said. “And I just want to assure you that you don’t need to worry because there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it.”
The incident quickly went viral on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Nextdoor, sparking a wave of responses from residents across Silicon Valley. San Jose resident Bulou Varanisese said she saw clips of tampered-with crosswalks circulating online and decided to investigate the next morning to see if it was true.
“I thought to myself, okay, it’s probably just a joke,” Varanisese said. “But I went there, pressed the button, and lo and behold, it was real.”
While she initially laughed at the unexpected audio, Varanisese later raised safety concerns for residents who rely on the original instructions of the crosswalks.
“It was funny for a moment, but then I thought, ‘What about people who are visually impaired or hard of hearing?’” Varanisese said. “It could be a hazard.”
Palo Alto High Foreign Policy teacher Adam Yonkers said the messages indicate that more people are losing trust in tech billionaires and are concerned about the extent of control that artificial intelligence holds every day.
“They’re using the tools of Big Tech, AI, voice cloning and even infrastructure to send a message about Big Tech’s influence,” Yonkers said. “That irony doesn’t feel accidental.”
At Palo Alto High School, the crosswalks quickly became a classroom conversation. Senior Eddy Miao said he first watched the videos in his comedy literature class.
“I’m pretty sure the goal was to protest Elon [Musk] as a person,” Miao said. “Mocking him, using his own voice is a creative way to call him out. It’s a protest through parody.”
Senior Declan Baker also viewed the prank as a creative way to spark conversation.
“It’s a good use of AI because it gets people talking,” Baker said. “But it also highlights how dangerous it is for billionaires to have such political influence. If they’re making decisions and shaping narratives with that much money, it’s no longer a democracy. It becomes an oligarchy.”
But not all student responses were positive. Sophomore Divya Pubba said the act struck her as aggressive and inappropriate.
“It felt strange and hostile,” Pubba said. “Palo Alto is supposed to be a safe place to share ideas, but this felt like an attack, not a conversation starter.”
While all of the crosswalks that were tampered with have been shut down, authorities told Newsweek that they expect the crosswalks to be up and running within the next few days. According to the Los Angeles Times, the California Department of Transportation officials are working with the Menlo Park city staff to investigate.
